Ex-clerk admits to taking bribes

September 16, 2005

CHICAGO — A former clerk at the Illinois secretary of state's office admitted Thursday that she took hundreds of dollars in bribes to help two Chicago used-car dealers avoid paying sales tax on vehicles sold on their lots.

Brenda Strong, 36, of Chicago pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to accepting bribes.

From 2001 to March of 2005, Strong took bribes from Hossein Obaei, owner of American Car Exchange in Chicago, prosecutors said.

Strong met with Obaei regularly--sometimes once or twice a month--and improperly approved title and registration paperwork in a way that allowed Obaei to avoid taxes, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said she was paid $100 to $200 each time, but did not give a total.

In July, Obaei was accused in a federal indictment of using his car lot to launder drug profits for narcotics traffickers and gang members by selling them hundreds of luxury cars for cash.